I just finished my first restoration of a Star razor and some metal cases.

I boiled with a 2 of drops of antibacterial washing up liquid. I didn't use this for the antibacterial qualities, but to make the water wetter. It worked fine. No ill effect.

Anyway, I have tested many metal polishes over the last few years -- trying and buying is one of my responsibilites. If you are in the UK, the stuff to get is called 'Peek'. I suspect that this is very similar to Blue Magic. This razor came with origional Star blade and it even cleaned that up apart from some slight staining.

All in all, my biggest problem has been finding suitable tools for getting into those hard to reach areas.

Of greater difficulty will be the box this razor came in. It stinks. I suspect it has been in somebody's shed or loft for at least 60 years.
At the moment I have it with some of the paper and cardboard bits sitting in a nappy-bag with Bicarbonate of Soda. I think this will reduce the smell but I'll find out what the right gear is to eliminate it and let you all know. I know I have a couple of professional products at work for this, and I'm sure they are available in the US, Canada and Europe.

So I have a SS I want to clean up.
Well not clean up, that part has allready been done by the guy I bought the razor from, it probably has also been disinfected before I bought it but I still wanted to disinfect it so I let it bath in 70% alcohol during half an hour.
Now I would like to give the metal a 'like new' look as much as possible with the products I have at home.
I don't have products like CLR, Blue Magic, MAAS, scrubbing bubbles and mineral oil.
But some of the products I have are similar I think.
Here's a picture:

Left you can see the 'Cif Active Gel' (there's some baking soda in it if I'm not mistaken), my guess is that it is similar to 'Scrubbing Bubbles', this product is suposed to be good for eliminating scum in the bathroom and kitchen.
Then you have the 'Eres Inox-Net' which is specifically for cleaning and polishing stainless steel.
The good thing about this polish is that it's biodegradable and there's no particular warning on the back of the bottle.
On the extreme right you have a similar bottle (the yellow version), but this polish is more aggressive (there's a warning on the back and it's not biodegradable), so I don't think I would use it.
In the middle you have the WD-40 and some steel wool.

I was thinking about using the WD-40 first, let it stand a minute then using the 'Cif Active Gel' with a toothbrush.
Wash down the razor (with hot water and dish soap), use some 'Eres Inox-Net' with some steel wool to polish the razor then wash it down again and after that maybe a little 70% alcohol to be sure the polish is completely gone.
And finally let it sit in baby oil.

What do you guys think?

As soon as I cleaned the SS up I will post a before/after comparison (hopefully there will be some difference ).

About the CLR: I found this on B&B:

I believe CLR contains either Oxalic Acid or Phosphoric Acid (I can't remember which). Prolonged exposure can etch the surface of the stainless and attack more fragile components inside the razor.

I'd suggest a 20 minute soak in a weak solution of CLR (1 CLR : 5 water) and then a quick brush around with a used-up toothbrush. Probably same results as Oxi-Clean. Not sure which is gentler or more caustic to the razor ...

I consulted my barber on the use of Barbicide to sanitize my razors. He implored that it wouldn't be a good idea because any residue would be a severe irritant on my skin. He suggested soaking them in Isopropyl Alcohol (90%) for 10 to 15 minutes would be sufficient.

I consulted my barber on the use of Barbicide to sanitize my razors. He implored that it wouldn't be a good idea because any residue would be a severe irritant on my skin. He suggested soaking them in Isopropyl Alcohol (90%) for 10 to 15 minutes would be sufficient.

I clean any used razor with an overnight soak in dilluted dish detergent and if necessary, some type bathroom cleaner w/o bleach and a good scrubbung with a hard toothbrush. If it still seems gunky inside, it gets a boiling treatment (except for gold finishes) and another scrubbing. Then a good soaking in Barbicide for at least 10 minutes because it will kill AIDS, staph, and Hapatitis B & C. (However, alcohol makes the same claim.) Since the razor will be rinsed in water anyway, if there is a concern for skin irritaiton with Barbicide, rinse after the soaking.

I'm in the process of restoring a vintage drum kit and use many of the same products recommended here... One thing that I did find about soaking chrome parts in CLR is that it can have tendency to remove the weaker portions of any chrome plating - so I would use caution in soaking for any prolonged (read in excess of 30 min) period of time.

I now soak for 15 min and scrub, rinse, dry and polish up with Flitz. It's a lot of elbow grease on small parts, the monotony bores the hell out of me - but its the only way! Those parts that were damaged are being re-chromed.

Do not boil any razor of any kind, no toothbrush and toothpaste either. The razor will end up being scratched doing this. Boiling will see to it that the plating will peel away in time as the metals in the razor will expand at different rates.

Just use a shave brush with handwash solution to clean then rinse under moderately hot running water. Dishwashing liquids such as fairy liquid etc are to be avoided. There are salts in solution that will promote the onset of rust. Use a spray disinfectant to keep the thing clean. If a spruce up is needed, use a quality auto polish such as menzerna with a cloth. This is not nearly as abrasive as other things mentioned. I have old fatboys, slims etc that i bought new, they are all like new, pristine. A razor is not a surgical implement, even though a few razor/blade combinations do their best to convince one otherwise. Leave any tto razor upright in a wine glass overnight after dropping mineral oil down from the head end. Oil can be pooled slightly in the depression in the top plate with gillette ones. Normal smooth operation will ensue.
Just give them a good dose of tlc.

Science definitely needs to synthesize that brown/grey coating that appears on 45 year old Gillette razors. It can be seemingly impossible to remove! We could coat space ships and bomb shelters with that stuff!